Tow Mater
Tow Mater, better known as simply Mater, is the deuteragonist in Cars and the protagonist in Cars 2. Bio Mater's lived in Radiator Springs his whole life. In his younger days, he used to be a real handful around town, playing pranks on everyone, tippin' tractors, saying inappropriate things at the wrong time, but luckily he's matured a lot since then. Mater's a good ol' boy with a big heart and the only tow truck in Radiator Springs. He runs Tow Mater Towing & Salvage and manages the local impound lot. Though a little rusty, he has the quickest towrope in Carburetor County and is always the first to lend a helping hand. Mater sees the bright side of any situation. He's the heart and soul of Radiator Springs, and he doesn't have a mean bolt in his chassis. Keep an eye on Mater, he tends to take things a little too literally. Mater is a friendly tow truck with buckteeth. He speaks with a thick Southern accent with a dash of hillbilly twang and frequently uses incorrect syntax. Mater runs Tow Mater Towing & Salvage. Mater is one of the first to befriend and support Lightning throughout his adventure in Radiator Springs. During the film, Mater shows Lightning how to do Tractor Tippin' and how to drive backwards without crashing by using rearview mirrors, which Lightning uses to counter Chick Hicks' dirty racing in the Piston Cup race. In the end, Lightning gives Mater an opportunity to fly in a Dinoco helicopter like he always wanted, saying to Sally that Mater is his new best friend. In the now popular tourist destination of Radiator Springs, the rusty old tow truck Mater has a number of roles, including proprietor of Tow Mater Towing and Salvage, grand storyteller and the heart and soul of the town. But Mater’s favorite title is best friend to Lightning McQueen. Mater values each and every dent he’s earned on his escapades with Lightning over the years, and anxiously awaits further fun with his friend when Lightning returns with his latest Piston Cup. Cheerful, honest and loyal to a fault, Mater rushes to his best friend’s defense, which ultimately lands the off-duty Lightning in an international racing exhibition: the World Grand Prix. When Lightning invites Mater to come along as a member of his pit crew, Mater leaves Carburetor County for the first time ever. Not long after their arrival in Tokyo, Mater learns that the world outside of Radiator Springs is decidedly different and its newfangled ways may take some getting used to. But when he’s mistaken for an American secret agent, he falls into an intriguing adventure of his own. Caught between supporting his best friend on a globe-trotting racing competition and his new role in international espionage, Mater ends up in an explosive chase through the streets of Tokyo and Europe alongside a team of British spies and international bad guys. His girlfriend and lover is Holley Shiftwell and he loves her very dearly. Just before the end of the film, The Queen knights Mater for his bravery. Personality Mater is extremely friendly, silly, clumby/accident prone and goofy. Mater is cheerful, honest and loyal to a fault, often hard to upset. He can be considered pretty silly or air-headed, but nonetheless has good ideas every now and then and is smart in his own way (but often forgets about things because he lives completely in the present moment). It can also be concluded that he acts a lot like a canine or a young puppy, including his personality traits and his behavior throughout the franchise. He wags his tail when he's happy and excited. He also cowers low like a dog in fright. In a Cars Production note online, John Lasseter said that, "Mater is like your faithful dog who is there to greet you when you get home all the time no matter what kind of day you've had." He resembles Goofy the dog on Micky Mouse. He acts like Goofy and talks somewhat like Goofy considering that they both are rednecks/hillbillies and they both are goofy. Livery Mater was originally painted all baby blue and green, but it can be concluded that he never got a re-paint. Now, Mater is covered in rust and the only visible paint is on his sides and on his rear. He also has a bumper with a yellow and black "caution" logo. Model Mater's make model is a Haunted Hook/Haulital Hook'em (species, Baby Blue the world's smallest Haunted Hook breed), and a mix of a 1951 International Harvester L-170 "Boom Truck", One Ton Wrecker combined with some pieces of a Chevrolet 3800 and an old 1957 Dodge Truck. He has a V-8 engine with a two-barrel carburetor. He can go zero to sixty in ten seconds, with a top speed of 90 miles per hour, with 200 horsepower. In most of his appearances, his license plate is "A113", a recurring joke in Pixar films. In Rescue Squad Mater, his license plate is "RSQ M8R". In Mater the Greater, his license plate is "M8R GR8R". When he is disguised as Ivan, his license plate is "PN 217-63". Occupation Mater owns the local towing and salvage company in Radiator Springs. He also manages the municipal impound and the prisoners in it. Specifications *Hometown: Radiator Springs, Carburetor County *Top Speed: Bolts start flying off above 90 mph *Zero – 60 mph: Around 10 seconds (unless he's using rocket boosters) *Engine Type: V-8 with two-barrel carburetor *Horsepower: 200 (on a good day) Weaponry And Gadgets In Cars 2, since Mater plays a role in a spy affair, he is added several gadgets, however not as spectacular as those of Finn McMissile or Holley Shiftwell. Since Mater is not familiar with his gadgets, they are activated by voice commands. *'Deployable Gatling guns': One on each side. Deployed when Mater uses his catchphrase "Dad-gum." *'Twin rockets': Give Mater a powerful boost, and can serve to direct himself when gliding. *'Deployable paraglider': Of an orange color, it permits Mater to glide in the air. When used with his rockets, this gadget permits Mater to direct himself more precisely. *'Deployable holographic disguise emitter': Disguised as the flashing light on the roof. The device instantaneously makes a disguise all around Mater, and may even simulate supplementary volume or hide some. At the end of Cars 2, it appears Mater was removed of all his gadgets. However, he obtained the favor to keep his twin rockets. Appearances Feature Films *Cars *Cars 2 Short Films *Mater and the Ghostlight *Rescue Squad Mater *Mater the Greater *El Materdor *Tokyo Mater *Unidentified Flying Mater *Heavy Metal Mater *Monster Truck Mater *Moon Mater *Mater Private Eye *Air Mater *Time Travel Mater *Hiccups *Spinning Video Games *Cars: The Video Game *Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures *Cars: Mater-National Championship *Cars: Race-O-Rama *Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales *Cars 2: The Video Game *Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure *Disney Infinity Trivia *Mater is 56 years old, as seen on his Cars 2 passport. But he has a puppy like nature no matter how old he is. *One thing to note throughout the series is that Mater's characteristics are very similar to that of a canine more specifically a Golden Retriever (doesn't he act and look like one?). *In Cars Mater-National, it is concluded that Mater is a very rare, rugged legendary creature that lives in the wild. Gudmund, the rally car from Sweden, calls the beast 'The Haunted Hook' so Mater matches that of a Haunted Hook. Therefore, a Haulital Hook'em is a Haunted Hook (Crouching Haunted Hook: Hidden Haulital Hook'em). *Also in Cars: Mater-National Championship, it is mentioned that Mater is terrified of water because he can't swim and he doesn't want to swim. *As said at the end of Cars 2, Mater told the lemons that he was very badly mistreated and made fun of his whole life (by other cars and his main foe, Bubba). But then he tried reasoning with them. "But becoming powerful and rich beyond your wildest dreams ain't gonna make ya feel better." In Mater's lesson, you have to easily forgive those who abused you harshly in your past and forget it and let it go and live a happy life in the moment. *If you listen to the way Mater talks real closely, you can see that he talks with a lisp to his voice (as he talks, the air kind of whistles through the gap between his buck teeth) and he doesn't say 'this' he usually says, "dis, dat and among others along with z at the end of a word like carz instead of saying cars". *It is noted by John Lasseter that Mater is way to innocent, pure and kind so he can never hurt or harm any soul. He can't even kill a bumblebee without mourning for its life. *He loves fart jokes, which is why he loves Tractor Tippin'. *As said by Lightning McQueen in Cars 2, Mater is defiantly prone to exaggerate a bit about things he's overheard his friends talk about what they like. *His most favorite ice cream is pistachio ice cream. *Mater, along with other countless versions of him, have been released in the Cars, Cars Toons and Cars 2 Diecast Lines. *Mater and Ivan are the only characters in Cars 2 that are tow trucks. *During the credit roll of Cars 2, Mater's passport scrolls past. His birth date is listed on it. It turns out to be the same as John Lasseter’s: January 12, 1957. *During the last section of the World Grand Prix, Mater is described as the World's greatest backwards driver. *In the credits it is shown that he is knighted on Tuesday, July 15, 2011. However, 15 July in 2011 was not on Tuesday in real life, it was Friday. *Head of story and co-director Joe Ranft got the inspiration of Mater after seeing an old abandoned rusty tow truck during a research trip to Route 66. The character was named after and partly based on Douglas "Mater" Keever, a racing fan the Pixar team met during their research trips, and also draws inspiration from several other people the team encountered. *In Spanish and Portuguese, he is called "Mate". *In French, he is called "Martin". *In Polish, Mater is called "Złomek" (z-wom-eh-k). *In German, he is called "Hook". *In Dutch, he is called "Takel". *In Italian, he is called "Cricchetto". *In Swedish, he is called "Bärgarn". *One of his catchphrases is "Git-R-Done!", his actor, Larry the Cable Guy's signature phrase. Merchandising *Cars Diecast Line *Cars 2 Diecast Line *Cars Toons Diecast Line *Micro Drifters *Mini Adventures *Action Agents *LEGO *LEGO Duplo *MEGA BLOKS *Tomica *Shake 'N' Go *Geotrax *Wood Quotes From Cars From Cars 2 From Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales External Links *Car-Finder *Meet the Cars - ISBN 978-0811849005 *Meet the Mater Category:Characters Category:Cars 2 Characters Category:Cars Toons Characters Category:Video Games Characters Category:Trucks, buses Category:Cars Characters Category:Rusty cars Category:Local Services Category:Rustbucket Racers Category:Lightning McQueen Category:WGP Pit Crews Category:Radiator Springs Occupants